Why You Procrastinate and How to Deal With It

“When there is a hill to climb, don’t think that waiting will make it any smaller.” ― H. Jackson Brown

We are all guilty of procrastination in one form or the other. We have all had this urge to delay doing what should be done now until later.

Some people equate procrastination with laziness but they are not the same. Procrastination, especially when it has become a habit could be a sign of a bigger problem.

Procrastination refers to “the act of delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring.” This is as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary.

This definition resonates well with me. Some time ago, I decided to put extra effort into calling and keeping in touch with family and friends more regularly (I had been accused a lot of not keeping in touch). Then I formed this habit of always planning to make those calls but then keep delaying until they call me first and I then won’t have the heart to tell them I was going to call. I also see this in the life of my children, how they delay doing some chores they hate, like dishes until the plates have piled up high.

This happens in different areas of life as well, for example, if you had a report to review that feels cumbersome, you leave it till the very last minute and instead occupy the time doing other less important things like reading a book or scrolling the internet.

Delay in doing things at the right time usually comes with consequences. These consequences can sometimes be quite dire. People have avoided taking decisions promptly that have led to losing life-changing opportunities. Others have faced financial ruin because they delayed in confronting issues and dealing with them.

Consequences of Procrastination

As we have seen above, procrastinating always has consequences, some more serious than others. It is a common human condition and everyone procrastinates at one time or another. The problem occurs when it is allowed to become a habit that takes over a person’s life.

· It steals time

“My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” ― Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

· Procrastinating can make you miss opportunities that could have far-reaching consequences, like the loss of a job, relationships, reputation, etc.

· Doing things at the last minute can lead to making poor decisions which could affect your self-esteem and make people lose confidence in you.

· Not doing what you should do now till later will often contribute to you not meeting your set goals.

The stress brought on by not meeting your obligations and having to do things in a hurry because they were not done at the right time can have a major effect on your health. Stress can lead to many health conditions and affect your body’s immunity.

How can you deal with procrastination?

There are effective solutions that can help in managing procrastination. Here are some ways you can deal with it so it doesn’t ruin your life.

· Set realistic goals — Be clear about what you want to do by setting practical goals on what you can achieve. Focus on the easiest part of the tasks that you can begin to do immediately rather than planning to do it all in one go which may then prove harder to do.

· Write out all the tasks — If possible, allocate time to the tasks you have written down so you can see at a glance what you need to do and how much time you have to do them and you can tick them off as you go. Use of a time management tool for this such as a calendar, planner, or timer could help.

• Plan a reward for yourself for later — Sometimes, instead of writing, I choose to read and spend a long amount of time I should use writing doing so (nothing wrong with reading). I have adopted a new strategy where I delay reading that favorite book until I have met my writing goal. Then I reward myself later by reading that book or whatever it was I had wanted to do. Looking forward to that reward serves as an incentive to get the job done quicker.

· Motivation — One way to motivate yourself to do the unpleasant activity is by changing the way you see it. Rather than focusing on the reasons you would not do it, think of the results that will come from doing it. I sometimes delay doing my morning workout routine by making excuses like I had a hard day the previous day or it’s going to be a stressful day. What has helped is, thinking about the benefit I get from working out, and how good I feel as a result.

• Start with the small tasks — Break up the work into smaller bits rather than trying to tackle the whole thing, then start with the smaller tasks. This way, you create a momentum that moves you forward and this sense of accomplishment provides the extra drive to keep going until you finish.
• Keep the goal in view — Focusing on the result will help you to begin and keep you going. For example, that difficult exercise routine that you are delaying starting, just think about how great you will feel and look when you get to do it.
• Deal with distractions — I find that anytime I am trying to avoid doing an unpleasant task, I look for other things to distract me. One way that I have found to deal with this is by removing all sources of distractions so there are no excuses for not doing what I need to do. This often entails setting strict routines and keeping to them which could mean switching off the TV, locking myself up in a room, turning off the phone, etc.
• Deal with your fear — Getting to the root of the source of your procrastination is crucial. If it is borne out of fear then you must try to find out the reason for this fear and deal with it. If you think this is not something you can deal with by yourself, you could consider getting professional help.

Procrastination is one thing that we all have had to deal with. We have all had occasion to be confronted with doing a task we would rather do later than now out of laziness, fear of failure or criticism, lack of motivation or we consider the task too boring or unpleasant. This is quite normal and can happen to anyone. It becomes a problem when procrastination turns chronic and begins to control the person’s life leading to major consequences.

There are several strategies one can adopt in dealing with procrastination no matter the causes or reasons for the problem.

A few approaches that have helped me and others to deal with this issue of procrastination are: breaking up the work and starting with smaller tasks; setting realistic schedules; avoiding distractions; keeping eyes on the goal; rewarding yourself for starting and for small progress made; dealing with fear (of failure or criticism); and motivating yourself amongst others.

If the reasons for the procrastination are deeper-seated, this may require professional help to address the problem.